Growing Pains

Hmm, blogging still doesn't seem to be one of my strengths right now. The problem with art is that I need brain space to do it. As soon as something else comes along my art brain seems to hibernate, waiting until it is next allowed out. Normally, by the time I have woken it back up again something else has arrived. But I am hoping I can manage an art week this week. 

I have also discovered, that most of the places that stock or make my canvasses are currently out of stock due to supply chain issues because of the virus. This seems like bad news. I am not sure when any of them will get stock back in and I have run out of one of my favourite canvas sizes. Fortunately I have a commission just in, for use on that size and I have one canvas left. I guess I had best not make any mistakes!! I do have another commission in as well that I need to paint on unstretched canvas and then get framed, so I think there is going to be a learning curve to combat there! Just as well I did actually stockpile a few canvasses back in March! But don't be surprised if I have a succession of square paintings shortly, as that is mostly what I have left. 

I am also currently tackling website issues as well, as although my website stayed up and running whilst Flash was discontinued, my ability to amend or update it has not. Luckily, I managed to quickly get everything on track before it was blocked on the 12th, but it is starting to get frustrating that I can't change anything. I have a new painting I need to put up, which will happen after I have written this, but I guess it will have to wait awhile until I can put it on my website. Who knew trying to become an artist would involve so little painting time sometimes!

Speaking of new paintings! Here it is! Or here it will be.... This one was an interesting challenge. I had my support bubble and her kids over for a painting lesson just after Christmas. At the end of the session, we got all the leftover paint and splatted it on the canvas I had been half working on. A therapy art burst if you will. My challenge was then to turn it into something! Cue a week or so of background ruminating. and for some reason seeing tree rings, and here is the result! I was actually pretty pleased with how it turned out. It has so many colours on it it can't help but appeal to me!  

The starting point:

The update:

I hope you like it! 

2021!

 I don't even know where to start with blogging today, so much has happened it would take forever to cover it all. 

On the plus side the things that happened were mostly positive - lots of art sales leading up to Christmas and unusually lots of architecture work as well. I definitely got my steps in walking to the post office, what felt like every day! 

I miss the first lock-down, when the sun was shining, I did yoga and blogged every morning. This version seems more like everyday I wake up unsure what day it is, not sure what I am meant to be doing, I could sleep forever and I cant stop eating. I need to shake away those Christmas bad habits! So yes, I am doing a recorded Zumba session when I have finished writing this. At least I hope I am. 

But first, let's go for the blogging in reverse option and write the last thing I was meant to write first and then go from there. So:

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2021 is here! It still feels like 2020 at the moment but it should get better. I wanted to say a big thank you to everyone that purchased something from me in the run up to Christmas, I think I sold the most things I have ever done so at this time of year before, including a few paintings which is always heartwarming! I also managed to sell out of calendars for the first time ever!

Success!

It has taken me the entirety of this week to resort my stock levels and catch up with making paper copies of all my invoices, so that I very nearly, feel back on top of everything and ready to work out what I need to do next. 

So hooray, 2021 lets be positive, lets overcome all that we lost last year, and put some things in the diary to look forward to (one day). Lets do this!